Commercial Construction Solutions: Build It Your Way

When planning a commercial construction project, business owners have a lot of choices, including choosing a location, whether to build new or renovate and which materials to use, to name a few. The following guide will help you decide which construction solution is best for your building.

New Building or Renovate

One of the first decisions you will make is determining whether you are going to construct a new building from the ground-up or renovate an existing structure. With the trend toward urban centers, many business owners are faced with this decision often as raw land is in limited supply in many areas. For example, an old abandoned factory that can be converted into a hotel or Class A office building can reduce construction costs. It also has historical significance that will give it a competitive advantage and command higher rates in the marketplace.

Building Materials

There are also quite a few choices for building materials in commercial construction, but steel, concrete and engineered brick are among the most popular.

Each material has its own cost factor and pros and cons. You will need to consider aesthetics and any limitations the material may have when determining which building will be best for your commercial building.

Steel – Steel is by far the most popular material in commercial construction. It is abundant, cost-effective, and durable. It can carry a high load and offers the most flexibility that allows business owners to build to greater heights.

Engineered Brick – Engineered brick is another popular building material for its aesthetics, sustainability, and durability. It has a life span of up to 100 years, and it can be painted in virtually any color with a wide array of textures for building structurally-sound buildings with impressive facades.

Concrete – In certain types of building construction, a commercial contractor may prefer concrete instead of steel, in what is known as tilt-up construction. Not only does concrete offer better fire resistance than steel, but it can also better withstand heavy winds and even earthquakes.

Green Building

Commercial contractors are noticing an increasing demand for green building from business owners. Green building or green construction uses sustainable building materials and features that help to improve the environment and minimize its carbon footprint. It’s also good for the bottom-line as buildings that are LEED-certified often have lower operating costs and higher property values. Over 100,000 commercial projects have been certified since the U.S. Green Building Council introduced the LEED program in 1998.

Modular Construction

Many business owners are choosing permanent modular construction (PMC) to lower construction costs. It’s an innovative method that is catching on. In modular construction, up to 90% of the building is prefabricated in a factory. The individual modules are shipped and installed on-site. Schools, hospitals, banks, and even office buildings have been built with modular construction. It minimizes construction waste and drastically speeds up the construction process.

Design-Build Delivery

When working with a commercial contractor, building owners and developers have a choice of several delivery methods. Delivery methods are standardized procedures that determine how contractors will fulfill the construction and financial obligations of the project. One of the most popular is design-build. Design-build is popular because it is a turn-key solution that is efficient and cost-effective. Business owners can use a single commercial contractor that will manage and complete the design and build process of the entire construction project.